Life at the Cost of Drinking a Cup of Time: The Simulated Dream

Part Three: The Nightmarish Dream

-One Day Before the Next Phase of the Experiment-

Alex lay in his room, but sleep eluded him. Thoughts swirled endlessly in his mind, and he felt as though something deep inside was pulling him. Suddenly, a physical pain settled in his chest, and before he could react, the world around him began to spin. A sharp dizziness overtook him, as if his entire body was being sucked into an endless whirlpool.

He opened his eyes and found himself in a dark, endless corridor. All around him were tall, narrow walls that seemed to stretch forever. At the beginning of the hallway, a small, faint light illuminated the space, casting deep shadows that made the surroundings even darker. His legs felt heavy, and with every step he took, the sound of scraping against the ground echoed in his ears. His breath became labored, as if the air around him was thinning.

Suddenly, a loud laugh broke the silence of the night. The sound, coming from an unknown depth, was not only strange but seemed to be coming from all directions. Trembling with fear, Alex began to run, but the corridor still appeared endless. The further he ran, the louder and more terrifying the laughter became. The sounds pierced his mind in a way that was both unsettling and maddening.

In the midst of this darkness, a faint light caught his eye. He stepped toward it, and gradually, the light transformed into a large wooden door at the end of the hallway. It seemed as though everything was within his grasp—the door called to him in a magical way.

But as he drew closer to the door, the laughter grew louder. Alex placed his hand on the door, and as his heart raced, he opened it. Inside the room stood Sara, but something had changed in her face. Her gaze was cold and emotionless, not the loving, serene look Alex remembered. She looked at him with a ruthless expression, just as she had in the nightmares.

"Alex..." Sara’s voice cast a cruel shadow over him. "You shouldn’t enter this game... this isn’t just a game. It’s a game with time, a game with fate."

Alex responded with a trembling voice, "Sara... what are you saying? What happened here?"

Sara smiled, a smile that lacked any warmth. "You’re just a pawn in this game, Alex. Nothing is real. This is just a dream."

Before Alex could say anything more, the terrifying laughter returned, echoing through the room like deadly gunshots in his ears. He tried to approach Sara, but his legs felt heavy, as if he was trapped in a swamp of fear and despair. With every step he took, he seemed to get more and more trapped, caught in a never-ending loop.

Suddenly, the ground beneath him began to tremble, and the space around him twisted. The walls shook, and withered trees and strange shadows passed by him. It felt as though everything he came near began to vanish, as if the world around him was collapsing from within.

Alex looked around in utter horror. He couldn’t understand what was happening. Everything was changing too fast, and he felt like he was caught in a digital, simulated world—a matrix, or perhaps an endless nightmare.

He gasped for breath, shouting at himself to wake up. The more he shouted, the more he felt trapped in this deceptive world. "I need to wake up..." he repeated to himself, as the world around him began to disintegrate.

Then, everything fell silent.

When Alex opened his eyes, he was met with a cold, snowy landscape. Immediately, he realized that nothing in his surroundings was real. It had all been a nightmare. He was lying in his bed, still heavy with sleep.

With a deep breath, Alex found a sense of calm and finally understood that what he had experienced was only a nightmare. But he still felt that deep inside that dream, something more than what he had seen was hidden. Something that reminded him that fate and time couldn’t simply be manipulated.

Despite the nightmare being over, and everything seeming unreal, deep emotions lingered in Alex's heart. He could still hear the echoes of the laughter in his ears, still feel trapped in another world—endless and merciless. But something within him stirred slowly. He couldn’t forget what he had experienced in that dream.

Despite all the warnings he had heard in the nightmare—even SARA’s warnings—Alex decided to continue with the next phases of the experiment. This decision wasn’t driven by fear, but by curiosity and a desire that had formed within him. He wanted to confront Sara again, even if she was no longer the person he remembered. This experiment, this game, might be the only way for him to truly understand himself and the world around him. And perhaps, just perhaps, he could uncover the truth hidden in this simulated world.

Alex knew he had entered a new realm, one where the boundary between reality and nightmare blurred. But he was ready to continue down this path, facing all his fears and doubts, in hopes of coming closer to Sara, even if she appeared in a different form.